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Daily News: 06/2013

June 28, 2013

"Russia hosts IAEA-organized nuclear energy conference" Press TV / June 28, 2013 The International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power in the 21st Century, organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has got underway in St Petersburg, Russia.... View Source ›

Alissa de Carbonnel, "Iranian official signals no scaling back in nuclear activity" Reuters / June 28, 2013 Iran will press ahead with its uranium enrichment program, its nuclear energy chief said on Friday, signaling no change of course despite the victory of a relative moderate in the June 14 presidential election.... View Source ›

"AEOI Chief Stresses Iran's Inalienable N. Rights" Fars News Agency / June 28, 2013 Abbasi made the remark on the sidelines of the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power in the 21st Century in Moscow on Thursday.... View Source ›

Fredrik Dahl, "Missing nuclear material may pose attack threat: IAEA" Reuters / June 28, 2013 Nuclear and radioactive materials are still going missing and the information the United Nations atomic agency receives about such incidents may be the tip of the iceberg, said a senior U.N. official.... View Source ›

"US sanctions NKorea bank, intended to pressure Pyongyang, disrupt nuclear program" Associated Press / June 27, 2013 The U.S. Treasury is sanctioning a North Korean bank and its China-based representative in the latest step to disrupt Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs and pressure the government.... View Source ›

April Yee, "UAE energy chief calls for nuclear consensus" The National / June 28, 2013 The UAE energy minister has painted an optimistic picture of nuclear power two years after the Fukushima disaster in Japan but cautioned other nations to step up liability and safety practices.... View Source ›

"Japan disaster budget given to nuclear operator" AFP / June 28, 2013 Money set aside to help earthquake, tsunami and nuclear victims has been allocated to power companies, officials in Japan said Friday, a move that could fuel fury among people who lost their homes.... View Source ›

June 27, 2013

"Iran’s top leader: Nuclear solution ‘easy’ if West serious about deal" Associated Press / June 27, 2013 Iran’s supreme leader said a solution to the nuclear impasse with the West would be “easy” if the United States and its allies are serious about seeking a deal, Iranian media reported Thursday.... View Source ›

Chang Jae-soon, "Park: S. Korea, China agree nuclear-N. Korea unacceptable" Yonhap News Agency / June 27, 2013 South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Thursday she reached an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping that a nuclear North Korea is unacceptable "under any circumstances" and ending its atomic program serves the national interests of the two countries.... View Source ›

"Japan receives first nuclear fuel since Fukushima disaster" The Hindu / June 27, 2013 A vessel carrying nuclear fuel processed in France docked in Japan on Thursday amid protests, the first such shipment to the country since the disaster at Fukushima, local media reported.... View Source ›

"Russian-backed nuclear plant "more than hypothetical"" Itar Tass / June 27, 2013 The prospects for cooperation between Serbia and Russia are better than ever, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkić said ahead of his visit to Russia.... View Source ›

"No Obstacles to Russian Nuclear Tech Use in Europe – Envoy" Ria Novosti / June 26, 2013 Russia could find new markets for its cutting-edge civilian nuclear technologies in Europe, and no barriers stand in its way, a senior European energy official said on Wednesday at a nuclear industry forum in St. Petersburg.... View Source ›

Idéle Esterhuizen, "Russia to connect new nuclear plant to grid in 2016" Engineering News / June 27, 2013 Russia will produce the first power from its new Leningrad Phase 2 nuclear power plant, west of St Petersburg, in 2015 and will connect the 70-billion rubles plant to the grid in 2016, plant manager Yuri Galanchuk said on Wednesday.... View Source ›

"Chinese, South Korean presidents want quick return of North Korea nuclear disarmament talks" Associated Press / June 27, 2013 The Chinese and South Korean presidents called Thursday for a swift resumption of six-nation North Korean nuclear disarmament talks after a summit that brought together Pyongyang’s archrival and its biggest ally.... View Source ›

June 26, 2013

Niharika Mandhana and Biman Mukherji, "First U.S.-India Nuclear Deal Still Far Off" The Wall Street Journal / June 26, 2013 It seemed like a significant leap forward for U.S.-India relations this week when Secretary of State John Kerry announced American nuclear equipment supplier Westinghouse Electric Co. would sign a “commercial agreement” to sell nuclear reactors to India’s Nuclear Power Corporation by September.... View Source ›

Sean Carney, "Political Delays to Hamper Czech Nuclear Tender" The Wall Street Journal / June 26, 2013 The Czech Republic's new interim prime minister Tuesday said he wouldn't make any decisions that define the country's long-term geopolitical orientation, likely delaying by months or potentially a year the decision whether the country will sign a $10 billion contract to expand its nuclear capacity.... View Source ›

"Japan utility behind nuclear crisis faces angry shareholders at annual meeting" Associated Press / June 26, 2013 Shareholders angry at the utility company behind Japan’s nuclear catastrophe peppered executives with questions Wednesday about leaking radioactive water and demanded a phase-out of atomic power.... View Source ›

Chang Jae-soon, "Park preps for summit with China's Xi, expected to focus on N. Korea" Yonhap News Agency / June 26, 2013 South Korean President Park Geun-hye prepared Wednesday for an upcoming state visit to China that will be watched closely as to how far Beijing would go in committing itself to helping end North Korea's nuclear program.... View Source ›

"U.N. report urges countries hosting N. Korea missions to be vigilant" Kyodo News / June 25, 2013 A U.N. report released Monday has urged nations hosting North Korean embassies, missions or trade offices to be on guard against diplomats and officials covertly facilitating illicit trade in nuclear arms or other prohibited items.... View Source ›

Brian Murphy, "Iran's New President Looks Westward for Nuke Talks" Associated Press / June 26, 2013 Just a week before Iran's election gatekeepers announced the presidential ballot, Rouhani said one-on-one talks with Washington are the only way for breakthroughs in the nuclear standoff, given that the United States — as he put it — is the world's "sheriff."... View Source ›

Matthew L. Wald, "U.S. Moves to Abandon Costly Reactor Fuel Plant" The New York Times / June 25, 2013 The Energy Department is moving toward abandoning a half-built factory that has cost $3.7 billion so far and was intended to make reactor fuel out of plutonium from retired nuclear bombs — part of an agreement with Russia to shrink the world’s supply of nuclear bomb fuel after the cold war.... View Source ›

June 25, 2013

"South Korea Urges North to Take Path of Peaceful Coexistence" Ria Novosti / June 25, 2013 South Korea’s prime minister called on North Korea on Tuesday to come out of isolation and embark on a course of “co-prosperity and permanent peace” on the Korean Peninsula, South Korean media reported.... View Source ›

"Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization in Russia for conference" Press TV / June 25, 2013 Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Fereydoun Abbasi has arrived in Russia to participate in the International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power in the 21st Century.... View Source ›

Sandeep Dikshit, "India assures U.S. a share of nuclear pie" The Hindu / June 24, 2013 India and the U.S. on Monday agreed to set a timeline for operationalising the civil nuclear agreement. The Fourth Strategic Dialogue co-chaired by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid here reviewed several issues ranging from the status of civil nuclear ties between the two countries through defence trade to education and cultural exchanges — through some 30 bilateral panels.... View Source ›

"Plutonium problem lingers as mixed-oxide fuel comes to Japan" Asahi Shimbun / June 25, 2013 A shipment of mixed-oxide fuel will arrive in Japan as early as June 27, part of the nation’s plutonium stockpile that is already equivalent to 5,000 Nagasaki-type atomic bombs.... View Source ›

Per Peterson, "Storage, disposal facilities for nuclear waste urgently needed in post-Fukushima Japan" Asahi Shimbun / June 23, 2013 The accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has also influenced U.S. policymaking with regards to high-level radioactive waste from nuclear facilities. The accident once again revealed the need for the swift development of facilities to store and dispose of spent nuclear fuel. We must not leave this problem for the next generation to sort out.... View Source ›

"Russia: Talks on New Nuke Cuts Must Involve All Nuclear Powers" Global Security Newswire / June 24, 2013 Russia's top diplomat on Saturday said that every nuclear-armed state must join any new process to cut strategic nuclear forces. He was responding to President Obama's call last week for Moscow and Washington to pursue further curbs on their deployed atomic arsenals.... View Source ›

"'United Against Nuclear Iran' a counterproductive group: Iran official" Press TV / June 23, 2013 A spokesman for the Iranian UN mission in New York Alireza Miryousefi says Tehran considers the activities of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) group “counterproductive” and contrary to the US announced policy to diplomatically interact with Iran.... View Source ›

June 24, 2013

Mukesh Jagota, "Kerry Sees Breakthrough in Civil Nuclear Supply to India" The Wall Street Journal / June 24, 2013 Westinghouse Electric Co. will sign an agreement by September with state-owned Nuclear Power Corp. of India to supply civil nuclear technology to India, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday.... View Source ›

"Iran’s state TV draws attention to new president’s desire to strike nuclear deal with West" Associated Press / June 21, 2013 Iran’s president-elect believes it’s possible to strike a deal that would allow the Islamic Republic to keep enriching uranium while assuring the West it will not produce a nuclear weapon.... View Source ›

Aaron Sheldrick and Kentaro Hamada, "Japan nuclear safety upgrades dazzle, mask industry woes" Reuters / June 23, 2013 Japan's nuclear utilities face shareholders this week promising restarts of idled plants as soon as next month after costly safety upgrades, plans that look wildly optimistic given they are yet to secure either regulatory or local approval.... View Source ›

Rick Gladstone and Jane Perlez, "North Korean Diplomat Blames United States for Tensions but Calls for Peace Talks" The New York Times / June 21, 2013 In a mix of diplomacy and bombast, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations called Friday for the United States to accept its recently revived proposal for direct peace talks, even as he blamed the Americans for all tensions on the Korean Peninsula starting with the war more than 60 years ago.... View Source ›

"Russia: Nuclear cuts proposed by Obama will require factoring in other weapons" Associated Press / June 21, 2013 Russia’s foreign minister said Friday that conventional weapons must be taken into account when Washington and Moscow meet to discuss President Barack Obama’s proposal to make radical reductions in their nuclear arsenals.... View Source ›

"Obama Renews Accord With Russia on Payments for HEU Disposal" Itar-Tass / June 21, 2013 The White House on Thursday informed Congress that it was renewing for an additional year an accord that provides financial support to Russia's efforts to dispose of the fissile material removed from nuclear warhead cores.... View Source ›

"Fukushima nuclear disaster not result of earthquake: expert" Focus Taiwan / June 24, 2013 A Japanese nuclear power expert said Monday that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant meltdown in 2011 was mainly a man-made calamity rather than a disaster caused directly by a powerful earthquake.... View Source ›

June 21, 2013

Douglas P. Guarino, "U.S. Official: Most DOE Nuclear Security Work in Russia Will Continue" Global Security Newswire / June 20, 2013 Amid questions as to exactly what nuclear security work the United States can still conduct in Russia following the expiration a 20-year-old agreement this week, the Obama administration is maintaining that most projects led by the U.S. Energy Department in the former Soviet state will continue largely unfettered.... View Source ›

Sergei L. Loiko, "Russia reacts coolly to Obama's nuclear proposals" Los Angeles Times / June 19, 2013 Russian officials responded coolly Wednesday to President Obama’s call for further reductions to the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals.... View Source ›

"Japan''s new nuclear safety rules to take effect on July 8" Kuwait News Agency / June 21, 2013 Japan's Cabinet decided on Friday to implement tough new safety requirements for nuclear power plants from July eight, in a move that allows operators to restart idled facilities shut down since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.... View Source ›

"S. Korea raises bar on conditions to resume nuclear talks with N. Korea" Yonhap / June 20, 2013 South Korea on Thursday raised the bar on conditions for resuming stalled nuclear talks with North Korea, saying Pyongyang must show its sincerity through more pledges than those it had agreed to in a scuttled aid-for-disarmament deal with the U.S. more than a year ago.... View Source ›

"Russia welcomes Iran president-elect's creative nuclear approach" Press TV / June 21, 2013 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow welcomes Iranian President-elect Hassan Rohani's willingness to adopt a creative and active approach to settle the Western nuclear standoff with Tehran.... View Source ›

"China backs Obama’s calls on nuclear disarmament" Agence France Presse / June 21, 2013 China yesterday backed US President Barack Obama’s calls for the US and Russia to slash their atomic arsenals, saying the two former Cold War rivals should bear the brunt of global nuclear disarmament.... View Source ›

"The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is in serious safety-trouble" Firstpost India / June 19, 2013 Looks like the power-starved Tamil Nadu has to give up hopes of relief from the yet-to-be-born pride of India’s atomic energy establishment – the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.... View Source ›

June 20, 2013

"Iran Picks Site for New Nuclear Research Reactor" Associated Press / June 20, 2013 Iran's state TV says a site in southern Iran has been selected for a planned new nuclear research reactor.... View Source ›

"Iran Buys Atomic Gear Using Sneaky Tactics: U.N." Global Security Newswire / June 19, 2013 U.N. Security Council specialists earlier this year said Iran is circumventing restrictions on its atomic purchases by employing shell firms, altering shipment procedures and seeking components not specifically covered by international controls, Foreign Policy magazine reported on Monday.... View Source ›

"Japan, Brazil to resume nuclear technology pact talks" Asahi Shimbun / June 20, 2013 Japan and Brazil appear set to resume and speed up talks for an agreement that would pave the way for the export of Japanese nuclear technology to the largest country in South America.... View Source ›

"Top UK Court Overturns Sanctions On Iranian Bank" Associated Press / June 19, 2013 Britain's Supreme Court quashed sanctions against an Iranian bank penalized over its alleged links to Iran's nuclear weapons program, saying Wednesday that Bank Mellat had been arbitrarily singled out.... View Source ›

Fredrik Dahl, "India may have to wait to join sensitive nuclear export body" Reuters / June 20, 2013 Some states still appear to be skeptical about letting nuclear-armed India into an influential body regulating sensitive atomic trade, diplomats said on Thursday, suggesting Indian membership may not be imminent.... View Source ›

"France to maintain nuclear arsenal after Obama call" Reuters / June 20, 2013 France is not ready to reduce its nuclear arsenal for now, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday, a day after U.S. President Barack Obama offered to cut deployed weapons as part of a global push to lower stockpiles.... View Source ›

"Japan watchdog OKs new safety requirements at nuclear plants, paves way for resumption" Associated Press / June 19, 2013 Japan’s nuclear watchdog formally approved a set of new safety requirements for atomic power plants on Wednesday, paving the way for the reopening of facilities shut down since the Fukushima disaster in a move critics charged was too hasty.... View Source ›

June 19, 2013

Peter Baker and David E. Sanger, "Obama Has Plans to Cut U.S. Nuclear Arsenal, if Russia Reciprocates" The New York Times / June 18, 2013 President Obama plans to use a speech in Berlin on Wednesday to outline plans for further reductions in the American nuclear arsenal if Russia agrees to pare back its weapons at the same time, administration officials said Tuesday.... View Source ›

"North Korea says is willing to return to nuclear talks" Reuters / June 19, 2013 North Korea is willing to resolve the dispute over its nuclear program peacefully through talks, including returning to stalled six-party talks process, China's Foreign Ministry cited a senior North Korean diplomat as saying on Wednesday.... View Source ›

Fredrik Dahl, "North Korea nuclear test still shrouded in mystery" Reuters / June 18, 2013 The outside world may never find out what type of fissile material North Korea used in its nuclear test four months ago, leaving a key question about the explosion unanswered, officials and experts said on Tuesday.... View Source ›

"Watchdog Agency Raises Doubts About Utility of IAEA Fuel Bank" Global Security Newswire / June 18, 2013 Congressional auditors in a new report questioned the utility of a nuclear fuel bank that the International Atomic Energy Agency plans to open next year, likely in Kazakhstan.... View Source ›

Hiroko Tabuchi, "Japan Moves Toward Restarting Nuclear Reactors" The New York Times / June 19, 2013 Japan’s new nuclear regulator adopted a fresh set of safety guidelines on Wednesday, starting a process that could allow some of the country’s idled reactors to come back online early next year.... View Source ›

Arata Yamamoto, "Radioactive Strontium-90 found in groundwater near Fukushima nuclear reactor" NBC News / June 19, 2013 High levels of toxic Strontium-90 have been found in groundwater at the tsunami-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, its operator said Wednesday.... View Source ›

"Indian Nuclear Power Plant Gets Green Light Amid Regulatory Risks" The Energy Collective / June 18, 2013 The Kudankulam nuclear power plant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has finally begun operationsfollowing a landmark Supreme Court of India ruling approving the project. The plant was constructed by the Russian company Rosatom as part of an ongoing strategic Indo-Russian nuclear energy partnership.... View Source ›

June 18, 2013

Fredrik Dahl, "Iran nuclear program advances despite sanctions: IAEA chief" Reuters / June 17, 2013 Iran is making "steady progress" in expanding its nuclear program and international sanctions do not seem to be slowing it down, the U.N. nuclear agency chief told Reuters on Monday.... View Source ›

Jason Rezaian, "Iran’s new president says U.S. outreach possible if ‘our nuclear rights’ are respected" The Washington Post / June 17, 2013 In his first news conference since being elected president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani said Monday that he wants to improve his country’s relations with the United States, but not at the expense of Iran’s nuclear program.... View Source ›

"Russian FM says Iran ready to stop 20-percent enrichment, hails possible ‘breakthrough’" Associated Press / June 18, 2013 Russia’s foreign minister says Iran is willing to halt its 20-percent enrichment of uranium, which has been a key concession sought in international negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.... View Source ›

"UN chief: Any US-North Korea talks must focus on denuclearizing Korean peninsula" Associated Press / June 17, 2013 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon believes any dialogue between the United States and North Korea should focus on the goal of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, a U.N. spokesman said Monday.... View Source ›

"S.Korea top North envoy heads to US" AFP / June 18, 2013 South Korea's top envoy on North Korea left on Tuesday for a meeting in Washington with his US and Japanese counterparts, two days after Pyongyang proposed direct, high-level talks with the United States.... View Source ›

Roberta Rampton, "Obama, Putin to sign new deal on reducing nuclear threat" Reuters / June 17, 2013 President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin said they would sign an agreement on securing and destroying nuclear material to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, replacing a 1992 deal that expired on Monday.... View Source ›

"North Korea to Send Senior Envoy to China" The New York Times / June 17, 2013 A senior nuclear negotiator from North Korea will visit Beijing for a strategic dialogue this week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Monday.... View Source ›

June 17, 2013

Jean H. Lee,, "North Korea changes tack and tells U.S.: Let's talk" Associated Press / June 16, 2013 After months of threatening to wage a nuclear war, North Korea did an about-face Sunday and issued a surprise proposal to the United States, its No. 1 enemy: Let's talk.... View Source ›

"US Wants 'Credible Negotiations' With North Korea" Associated Press / June 16, 2013 The Obama administration said Sunday it was receptive to North Korea's proposal for high-level talks, but wants "credible negotiations" that will lead to a nuclear-free North.... View Source ›

Lesley Wroughton and Louis Charbonneau, "U.S. says Iran election may be hopeful sign for resolving nuclear dispute" Reuters / June 16, 2013 The surprise win by Iran's Hassan Rohani in weekend presidential elections offers a possible opening for resolving a dispute with the United States over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, U.S. officials and analysts said on Sunday.... View Source ›

Douglas P. Guarino, "House Adds New Limits to Arms Control Efforts In Defense Bill" Global Security Newswire / June 14, 2013 Despite a veto threat from the White House, the House on Friday added additional language to its version of the fiscal 2014 defense authorization bill that could limit the Obama administration’s arms control efforts.... View Source ›

Fredrik Dahl, "Britain lobbies for nuclear export group to admit India" Reuters / June 14, 2013 Britain has stepped up efforts to let India join an influential global body controlling nuclear exports, a move that would boost New Delhi's standing as an atomic power but which has faced resistance from China and other countries.... View Source ›

Karl Vick, "A Glimmer of Hope in Iran’s Nuclear Posture, Even Before Rowhani’s Stunner Read more: http://world.time.com/2013/06/17/a-glimme" Time World / June 17, 2013 The surprise landslide for moderate Hassan Rowhani to the Iranian presidency over the weekend offers no guarantee that the Islamic Republic will soften its position on its problematic nuclear program. But the man who holds ultimate power in the theocracy — Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, whose title is Supreme Leader — is as at least as much a politician as he is a cleric. And as it happens, in a major speech earlier this year, Khamenei laid out what some understood as a road map for a negotiated ending to the nuclear confrontation.... View Source ›

Chidanand Rajghatta, "India's nuclear expansion not targeted at Pakistan but at China" The Times of India / June 16, 2013 Earlier this month, SIPRI, the respected Sweden-based arms control and non-proliferation think tank, reported that China, India, and Pakistan had increased their nuclear arsenals by 10 to 20 weapons each during the past year. In this interview with Chidanand Rajghatta, SIPRI researcher Phillip Schell explains how they estimate the arsenal size of each country and the motivations driving their expansion.... View Source ›